Time Out

When one seeks refuge, one might look to the ocean, the mountains or even the anonymity of a City park. This weekend, it was found in the mountains of North Georgia. The Blue Ridge Mountains provide a beautiful setting of changing seasons this time of year. With some close friends, a fire in the outdoor fireplace and a good bottle of wine, the rigors of everyday living were stripped of their power. Though everyone had different views of life, peace was found in the collegial nature that comes from being in a place of serenity. A time of joy was found in the similar need of everyone letting go of the pressing issues of jobs, schedules and deadlines. It was a cathartic weekend.

Blue Ridge, Georgia is a study in conflicted history and breathtaking natural beauty. Left to itself through generations of sameness, the influx of Boomers looking for the perfect hideaway has transformed it. The locals might argue, not for the better. While one can find, locked away on a state highway, a convenience store that advertises racial bigotry, ammo and confederate flags, "downtown" Blue Ridge sports wine and rare book shops, trendy restaurants and art galleries. There is obviously a tenuous peace between the two colliding worlds.

There is also the paradoxical nature of the evolution of communities. While fine wine can be purchased, it simply cannot be corked at the restaurants. You can buy the wine there and drink it in the parking lot, just not at your dinner table. Odd. While locals welcome the business during a recession that touches even here, they privately begrudge the liberal-leaning views of some of their patrons. Suspicion walks lock-step with a paper-thin gratitude for the patronage. In the end, the tranquil, soul-mending experience of wandering through God's fingerprints more than offsets the underlying roiling of the local population's mistrust.

To those who have chosen Blue Ridge, Georgia as a permanent residence, the reviews are mixed. The primitive views of the established are at odds with a new citizenry that crave the most basic of amenities they take for granted back in Atlanta. One example. We had hoped to visit with the Restaurateur of "RePaz", a lovely new restaurant in downtown Blue Ridge. She had told us on our last visit in October that she would find a way to navigate the "Blue Laws" of the county so that we could experience the excellent cuisine of her new restaurant, with some complimentary wines, after closing of course. As luck would have it, she, the night before our visit, had received a visit from the local police warning her that her wine-imbibing tendencies could result in at worst, her arrest and at the very least, the loss of her business license. On the night of our visit with our friends, she had passed the message to us through the wait staff that she was "under the weather". She didn't show. What a shame. The myopic views of the locals, unfortunately, still hold sway. We can only hope that even if it takes another generation, all of this will change.